Hello!
We have been very busy at the store designing new displays and products. One of my main jobs at AVFKW is to assist in the mordanting part of the dyeing process and to build displays for the store. This past year we have been working on a kiosk for the natural dyes we sell here at the shop. Kristine and I both teach natural dyeing classes at the store and both of these classes require some materials that are difficult to find. We have always sold natural dyes in bulk. However, making them readily accessible as grab and go items for students has always been a challenge.
Maybe the most difficult task is understanding how much one needs to dye their specific project. One way to deal with this is to come up with an amount for a moderate saturation. This way the user can modify their amount to either get a lighter color by using less or making a color darker by using more. Another task to tackle was to have those colors available as samples to see and touch.
I created samples with the help of Sarah and Kristine. They gave me a set amount of dye to use for the sample dyeing. I mordanted as usual my 100% wool yarn for each color sample.
I then used the jar method to dye the samples all at once, with the exception of the indigo. Kristine dyed the indigo skein.
Here are some pictures to illustrate my process.
At this time we have come to a solution for all of these concerns. The next step is to refine the packaging of the dyes and make a beautiful display for all of you, so you can see the dyes easily.
I hope you will follow us on the journey to making natural dyeing a fun and creative pursuit, that is accessible to many - and maybe even try a bit of natural dyeing of your own!
Cheers,
Adrienne Rodriguez